


Sorry Is Never Enough

by welcometothefangirlparade



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: And out of character, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Keith (Voltron) Needs a Hug, Voltron is mentioned, but enjoy, i haven’t written in a while either this was rough, im half sleep deprived cut me some slack, im very redundant so bare with me, keith doesn’t like his mom, the paladins are mentioned, this is really bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-26 07:48:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13853250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/welcometothefangirlparade/pseuds/welcometothefangirlparade
Summary: When a parent leaves without a trace, it leaves a lasting impact on their child.Orthe one where’s Keith is mad at his mom for leaving





	Sorry Is Never Enough

**Author's Note:**

> this is pretty bad im sorry  
> also it’s very short  
> also i didn’t like the ending so i changed it  
> I’m terrible for that I’m so sorry

Keith sat at the wheel of the ship, Krolia, no—his mom—standing behind him. No words had been exchanged since they had left the Galra base, and it left them in complete silence, aside from the low hum of the ship’s engine.

He didn’t want to say anything. He wasn’t sure what he would say. Part of him wanted to be ecstatic that he’d found his mom after so many years of believing she was dead, but most of him was just angry. Angry she left him, angry that she thought she could just waltz back into his life like it was nothing. It wasn’t that simple.

To be fair, this wasn’t all her fault. Keith blamed some of it on Kolivan. There was no way he hadn’t known Krolia was his mother. It would be the only explanation as to why he had sent him on this mission alone.

“We’re nearing base,” he reported, trying to hide the building irritation in his voice.

There was a long pause before she spoke.

“Keith, we need to talk—“

“We don’t need to talk about anything,” he remarked.

“There are things i need to explain,” she continued. “I know you’re upset with me, and you have every right to be, but i just want you to know the truth.”

“Upset?” He let out a weak laugh to accompany his patronizing tone. “Why would i be upset? Is it that fact that you left Dad and i on our own and never even thought to leave a note? Never wanted to visit? You never even said goodbye.”

He stopped to see if she would respond, but only silence followed.

“I’m not upset,” he said, avoiding her eyes. “And there’s nothing to talk about so just leave it.”

This was her fault. The way he was incapable of expressing his feelings. He never had that kind of outlet. It was because she left that he felt so entitled to grow up fast. He believed he needed to fill the void that had remained when she went away without a trace. And it’s because of that, he shut down.

* * *

 

As soon as they landed, keith went straight to the training room. It wasn’t like the Castle’s, and if he had to admit, he missed training there, but it was something. He had hoped to go unnoticed, but Kolivan had other ideas. When the doors opened, he was the first face keith saw.

“Keith—“

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He asked, glaring at the Galra who stood before him.

“I didn’t need your emotions jeopardizing the mission,” he responded collectively. “You have a habit of acting on impulse rather than logic.”

“Then why didn’t you choose someone else? Huh?” He retorted, already knowing the answer.

“This was something you had to figure out for yourself,” Kolivan offered. “It wouldn’t mean the same if i had simply told you.”

“I don’t care! You should have said something, anything! This wasn’t something you had the right to keep from me.”

“You’re mother—“

“No,” Keith spat. He pointed at the woman who stood beside the Blade’s leader. “She, is not my mother. My mom died when she left me on Earth. She doesn’t deserve that title, not anymore. She is not my mom.”

Before either of the two could say anything else, Keith pushed his way past them, and quickly made his way to his room.

* * *

 

Krolia watched as the young boy stormed away. Part of her heart ached. She wished she could have just started over. Stayed with him, watched him grow up into who he became. He reminded her of herself. Headstrong, hotheaded and stubborn. But also determined, and passionate.

She couldn’t be upset with him. She couldn’t be mad because he was right. She didn’t deserve the title of “Mom”. She had hardly been there for him in times when every child needed their mom. She didn’t teach him, or influence him. The only thing she had done was break him.

“He’ll come around, Krolia,” Kolivan said, interrupting her thoughts. “He just needs time. This is a lot for someone to take in. Give it a few hours and talk to him.”

“What would i even say?” She asked, staring at the bright light that surrounded them. It had been so long since she’d seen it. “There is nothing i could say that will make up for all the years i couldn’t be there for him.”

“You’ll know when the time comes. you cannot dwell on this, it wasn’t your fault.”

“It was my choice. He’s right, Kolivan. I never even told them goodbye. What kind of mother does that make me?”

“I cant answer that for you, Krolia, but the only way that you can start to fix things is by talking to him, even when he doesn’t want to listen.”

“How do you do it?”

He looked at her. Though the frown on his lips didn’t budge, his eyes told a different story. “I’ve trained him for a long time now, i know him.”

He left her alone, staring at the stars, wondering what she could say. Nothing could ever make up for the time lost, and she knew that. No matter how much she tried to get him to listen, it wouldn’t be enough. She sigh, taking a last glance at void that lay in front of her before following Kolivan inside.

* * *

 

Keith locked himself in his room, sliding down to the floor. He hated her for leaving. Him, and his father. He hated that he couldn’t even recall what she looked like before she left. He hated that he couldn’t remember what it was like to live with a happy family.

He had Voltron, but it wasn’t the same. He didn’t belong there, and every moment he stepped into a room, watching them laugh and share jokes, he knew that he was the one out of place. He tried to be happy, he tried, but nothing could rid of the sinking feeling in his stomach that he didn’t fit in.

He felt his face grown warm thinking about it. He loved them. The paladins. Allura, coran. His friends. He missed them, but they did fine without him. The truth was, he needed them, but they didn’t need him. And as soon as that realization dawned on him, he couldn’t hold back the tears that threatened to fall down his face.

He’d be lying if he said he was enjoying his time with the blade. He wasn’t. It was lonely work. Friends weren’t a luxury he could afford. It wasn’t like Voltron. Agents of the blade died almost everyday. He lived in a constant fear that he would be next. At least he was useful here.

“Keith?” A faint voice echoed around the open hall. “I just want to talk.”

It was her. He scowled, though she couldn’t see it, but refused to give any acknowledgement to her presence.

“Keith, please.”

Her voice was closer now.

“I know you’re in here, Kolivan told me. I know you don’t want to hear this, i know, but i just need to tell you. You deserve that much from me at least.”

He leaned his head against the door, with his back against the wall, and listened.

“I am so sorry, i didn’t tell you. I’m so sorry. Everything i did was to protect you keith. Everything. I left to keep you and your father out of Zarkon’s reach. If i had stayed, both of you would have been dead, and leaving to save you seemed like the better option. You were the best thing that ever happened to me,” she whispered. “I never would have left if there had been another option. I loved your father, and i love you. And i am so sorry that i put you through so much, and that i made you feel like you didn’t have a family. Words, i know, won’t make up for the time we lost.”

He scoffed, shaking his head. “You’re right,” he said. “Words won’t do shit.”

He could hear the shaky breath she took in before continuing. “I know i missed out on your life. I know i should have been there. I want to be here for you now.”

“Eighteen years,” he murmured, his voice cracking slightly. “Eighteen years you missed. I never even got to know you.“

“And i am so sorry for that. I thought that it would just be better than leaving you when you could remember. The first time was so hard, and i couldn’t put you through that. I couldn’t put your father through that.”

“Cut the bullshit,” he said, raising his voice. “You missed eighteen years of my life. You never even visited. And when Dad died you didn’t even bother to come back to say goodbye. You left, he left and all that was there was me. You left me, nothing more than a child to learn how to grow up in my own. I never had the luxury of knowing what it was like to feel loved by a family. I never even had a family. And That’s on you. I needed you there and you didn’t do anything. I needed you and you didn’t care. But i don’t need you anymore, and i don’t want to have anything to do with you. All you ever did was let me down.”

“You don’t have to forgive me, you can hate me, and i understand,” the voice from the other side of the door murmured. “I deserve that. Not being there for you was my biggest mistake, and words can’t express how much i wish i could take it all back and fix it all. I’m so sorry i couldn’t give you the life you deserved.”

He sat against the door as he listened to her footsteps fade away. He let the tears flow freely from his eyes as he cradled his knees to his chest. She was trying, he could tell, but it wasn’t enough.

”you left me,” he whispered, furiously wiping the tears from his face. “You left me, and Dad, and you didn’t even care.”

Forgiving her wouldn’t just be hard, it would be impossible. 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Keith deserves more screen time  
> I just want him to be the red paladin again. I miss him.  
> #LetKeithbeloved2k18  
> i gave up at the end I’m sorry


End file.
